Sony announces Beyond: Two Souls, new God of War

Cross-play between the Vita and PS3 and a new Android app also appeared at E3.

Sony debuted a new installment of its God of War series called God of War Ascension at its E3 press conference Monday. The latest chapter in the Kratos saga came alongside trailers for two upcoming new IPs: Beyond: Two Souls and The Last of Us. In addition to these titles, Sony made a few announcements about cross-compatibility between the PlayStation Vita and PlayStation 3, as well as imminent collaborations with Android manufacturers.

Beyond: Two Souls, from Quantic Dream (the creators of Heavy Rain and the "Kara" tech demo) was first on the docket. The trailer showed an Ellen Page look-alike (fittingly voiced by Ellen Page) named Jodie Holmes who had been found by the police with no recollection of who she is or where she had come from. As an officer attempts to comfort her with a hand on her shoulder, she uses telekinetic powers to throw a coffee cup across a room, smashing it against the wall.

In Beyond: Two Souls, a girl with telekinetic powers tries to escape capture.

After a SWAT team seeks her out, she lays waste to the setting with her powers. Holmes tells the officer that if she is not left alone, she will kill everyone. Sony states that Beyond will follow a player throughout their whole life, stating "death is the biggest mystery… what is beyond?"

God of War, as violent as ever.

God of War Ascension matches its predecessors for brutality, with Kratos ripping heads from bodies, setting the deck of a ship on fire, and killing monsters with their own swords. Sony did not make clear the order of Ascension in the series' storyline, but the game appears to be either a prequel or an interstitial installment between previous releases.

Joel strangles an enemy in The Last of Us.

The landscape in The Last of Us

The Last of Us, another new IP from Naughty Dog first announced in December, is set in a post-apocalyptic world. The game features a young female character, Ellie, alongside a rugged man named Joel. Joel and Ellie explore a ruined city and sneak around spying on other characters; Joel chokes one man out and closes out the trailer by blowing off another's head with a shotgun.

During the conference, Sony announced more firm plans to integrate its games into the Android platform. The company will "certify" partners for PlayStation Mobile, formerly PlayStation Suite, to bring mobile games to their phones. HTC will be the first certified partner, but dates for the release are not yet announced.

Sony reps showing the cross-compatibility for AllStars between the Vita and PS3.

Assassin's Creed III: Liberation, like vanilla AC3, will take place during the American Revolution.

Sony also showed new ways that users will be able to integrate the handheld PlayStation Vita with the PlayStation 3. At Sony's conference, Ubisoft announced a Vita-exclusive version of Assassin's Creed, Assassin's Creed 3: Liberation. The title allows players to gain new materials and characters from cross-functionality between the Vita and a PS3. Likewise, the upcoming PlayStation AllStars Battle Royale will have cross compatibility with both systems, and new DLC for LittleBigPlanet 2 will allow players to use their Vitas as enhanced controllers for the PS3.

Beyond: Two Souls has no specified release date. The Last of Us is set for a late 2012/early 2013 release, while God of War Ascension is set precisely for March 12, 2013.